In the Beginning
by dagget
Summary: This is a PREQUEL to 'Jesus What the Hell was That', which is not really a crack fic despite the title.


In the Beginning

He'd seen the odd, red haired boy around. They had both started at this high school in the tenth grade but they hadn't shared any classes that year and their two groups of friends didn't happen to mingle.

It wasn't until the next year that a formal introduction was made when they found that they had a few of their new classes together. A mild acquaintanceship had begun by the end of the first week of that term. The redhead was reckless and energetic and while Itachi had never had any friends like that before, he felt a certain pull toward the outgoing boy. He couldn't help being amused with his antics in the classroom.

Kyuubi was undeniably charismatic and very entertaining. When they were assigned as partners for a project one day, a real, honest friendship began to take root. Their third partner was a complete waste of space and Itachi was relieved to find that despite his usual distinct lack of seriousness, Kyuubi didn't mind hard work in the least and they split the effort right down the middle.

Once he got used to the redhead's very direct manner of speaking, he came to value the refreshing quality of it. It could be difficult to find somebody who would just say what they meant.

Kyuubi in turn seemed to gravitate towards him as well. Somehow the two of them seemed to compliment each other. Over the course of the next year they became the best of friends. They were both very competitive and they tended to tease and make fun of each other at every opportunity but in spite of frequent challenges and arguments, their relationship really couldn't be called volatile.

They never seemed to find it in them to actually get angry at each other. Everything always had a playful air to it and neither ever came away with any hard feelings.

Kyuubi was openly gay. He'd made no pretenses about that right from the beginning. Itachi found that this didn't really bother him, though he himself continued to find women attractive and dated a few of them here and there. He could see what Kyuubi might like about certain guys as well.

With the two best looking guys in the school being constantly in each other's company, one of whom at least was most definitely gay, there were always rumours and speculation flying around about them. People seemed to like to imagine that they went home together every night and shagged each other silly. Itachi just shook his head at these ridiculous insinuations. He could see that Kyuubi was a good looking guy but he had never once felt that kind of attraction to his friend. He was certain that Kyuubi wasn't interested in 'him' that way either.

The redhead got a kick out of playing the part sometimes, for the nosy little buggers who kept watching them for some sign of possible homo-erotic action. He would get a little too close when he noticed someone looking, and put his arm around Itachi or touch him just slightly inappropriately, giving him a sappy, adoring look only to crack up at the resulting squeal from the sidelines. He had assured his friend that he wasn't his type though. He said that Itachi was too obviously and immovably dominant for his taste.

The thing was, Kyuubi was an exhibitionist. He just loved the idea of freaking people out. One of his favorite ways to bother Itachi in fact, was to give him accounts of all of his recent conquests, in very 'graphic' detail, doing and saying anything he could think of to ruffle Itachi's impassive front.

An odd side effect of this was that over time, Itachi became more and more comfortable with it. Both with the open sexuality and with the gay factor. From Kyuubi, he'd eventually learned 'all' about the mechanics of gay sex as well as every other aspect imaginable. He was about as much of an expert as a guy who'd never actually done it could be.

The constant exposure to Kyuubi's personality had certain aspects rubbing off on him as usually tends to happen with close friends. Kyuubi had picked up a lot of Itachi's dark, dry, sarcastic sense of humor and Itachi seemed to pick up some of Kyuubi's blatant kinkiness. While he didn't switch partners _nearly_ as often as his red haired friend, whenever he was in a relationship, he became more and more experimental. Eventually it became one of the pair's many competitions to try to find the most unusual ways and places to fuck.

Kyuubi loved to accuse Itachi of being a closet homosexual. He never failed to point out absolutely anything that could be construed as a tell-tail sign of gayness. He was also constantly touting the 'many pleasures and benefits of playing for the other team', claiming all the while that it was for Itachi's own good.

"You're bisexual _at least_. I just know it," he would say with a look of serious concern. "And it's not healthy for you to repress that side of yourself. You need to let your inner homo out to play buddy".

Itachi would protest in his usual mild fashion but Kyuubi would mention it again later, without fail. It wasn't until they were already nearing the end of their final year of high school that he finally managed to make the stoic Uchiha crack, just a little

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They were sitting in the sidewalk patio section of a small cafe that they had been frequenting for over a year and Kyuubi was, as usual, checking out every male that walked by and giving them a numbered hotness rating. Itachi was complacently playing along.

"What about that guy?" asked the redhead.

"Hmm, I'd give him an eight," said Itachi, looking up from his coffee.

"You see this man? This is what I'm talking about." Kyuubi was shaking his head with a little smile at his friend. "You really do find certain guys attractive. You check them out all the time, even if I don't prompt you. What's more is that you're completely comfortable with that. I'll concede the fact that you like women ok too, but I swear to God you just _have_ to be bisexual."

"I know what looks good, maybe but I can honestly say that I've never seen a guy that I was really attracted to in that way. I've looked at a guy and thought 'he looks good' but I've never looked at a guy and thought 'I want him'."

"You've just never actually _let_ yourself go there. You only stick to women because you think of it as the easier way to go. Since you like both, there's no need to bother with the side that might pose more complications."

"Is that what you think?" Itachi asked with amusement.

"I'm positive!" said Kyuubi. "You just don't know what you're missing." He gave his friend a rakish wink that brought out a quiet chuckle.

"Well then, I promise you that if I ever do set eyes on the guy that makes me think 'I want him', I'll go for it."

"Oh but that means you've got to at least take a little look around for him." Kyuubi wheedled. "You have to finally come out to the club with me tonight."

"I don't know about that."

"Come on! You have to go at least once, just to look around, get a feel for the scene... scope out the ass..."

"Kyuubi..." The redhead leveled a certain look at him.

"You just made me a promise. You should put in at least this one 'minimal' show of effort now." Itachi paused for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Fine I'll go, just once." The redhead brightened immediately.

"Alright, that's settled then. You'll meet me at my place tonight and we'll go together."

"Your place?" Itachi looked slightly surprised. They'd been friends for over a year, but he had never once been to Kyuubi's home. The redhead said that there wasn't much of anything to do there and if they were going to hang out, he'd rather be out and about to feel like he was _doing_ something. This was a fairly reasonable train of logic for the energetic boy and to be fair, Kyuubi had come to Itachi's place only a handful of times.

"Well, yeah. I live really close, so it's not like I'm gonna drive all the way to your place, and I won't say 'meet me at the club' because I want to make sure you don't stand me up."

---------------------------------------------------------------

That night Itachi found the apartment building that Kyuubi lived in. He had dropped him off outside here several times before, so thankfully, he at least knew where it was.

He walked in the first set of doors and looked to the panel at his side. Finding the name Uzumaki there, he pressed the button next to it.

"Oh, hey man. Come on up," Kyuubi's voice crackled through the intercom. He sounded kind of hurried. Itachi shrugged and opened the inner door when he heard the buzzer.

When he came to the right door he knocked twice and heard Kyuubi call out that it was open. Walking into the apartment, the first thing to meet his eyes was Kyuubi kneeling on the floor in front of a smaller boy.

The boy drew his attention immediately and he looked him over. He had bright, unruly, feathery blond hair that looked touchably soft, and golden skin like Kyuubi's. His over-sized blue and white striped pyjamas showed off a lot of that smooth skin around his collar bone and the better part of one shoulder, the sleeve covering his hand to the fingertips, making him look even smaller and more delicate than he was.

Kyuubi was holding his other hand and looking through a first aid kit.

"Hey Itachi. This is my brother, Naruto," Kyuubi informed absently. "Had a little run-in with a kitchen knife."

The little blond turned his head to look at Itachi with the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.

"...Hello Naruto. I'm Itachi," he said, perhaps a little belatedly.

"Uh, hi. It's nice to meet you!" Naruto answered with a cheerful grin, though he was scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. Itachi realized he was probably staring, and shifted his gaze to Kyuubi just as his friend let go of the younger boy's hand and quickly jumped back a bit.

"Hey! don't bleed on me! Just suck on it or something 'til I get this stuff ready".

Obediently the blond stuck his finger in his mouth and Itachi's eyes were drawn helplessly back to him, or rather his soft pink lips that wrapped around his wounded appendage. His cheeks hollowed slightly as he sucked and now Itachi was sure he was staring.

Kyuubi pulled a bottle out of the kit and Naruto pulled his finger out with a wet pop and a small wince.

"No! Don't use _that_ stuff!" he protested.

"Don't be a baby. It's your fault for being so accident prone," Kyuubi huffed.

Naruto pouted at his brother and Itachi thought his heart might actually melt into a puddle of goo. How ridiculously adorable could you get? It was downright criminal!

Kyuubi grabbed the boy's hand again and made to pour the peroxide over the cut while Naruto turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut. On impulse, Itachi stopped the redhead and grabbed the bottle from him.

"Let me try something," he said, taking a paper towel from the roll on the counter. He folded it a few times, poured a little of the peroxide on it and turned to Naruto, holding out his hand.

The blond hesitantly placed his own small, tanned hand in Itachi's and bit his lip as the older boy gently pressed the towel to the cut and carefully cleaned the area. There was only a tiny sting this way and it didn't linger at all.

Itachi handed the towel to Kyuubi, who took it and gave him a bandage. He gently bandaged the blond's finger and looked back to his face. Big bright eyes looked up into his and Naruto smiled beautifully at him.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"Your welcome," Itachi murmured back.

"Well we'd better get going," said Kyuubi, startling them out of their moment.

"Oh, yeah. It was nice meeting you Naruto," said Itachi.

Naruto nodded up at him with a smile and Itachi slowly turned to go. He couldn't seem to help looking back over his shoulder at the blond boy before closing the door behind himself.

"You just leave him alone here all the time?" he asked Kyuubi as they headed for the car.

"He can take care of himself alright," Kyuubi answered. "I keep a roof over his head and if somebody messes with him I'll kick their ass, but I'm not a parent and I'm not gonna try to pretend to be. He's my brother and I love him but we're both in the same boat and we both have lives to live. Now let's you and me go do some livin'!"

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The club was hot and kind of stuffy. The air-conditioner wasn't working tonight and it kept getting worse as more and more bodies were packed inside, people going wild on the dance-floor regardless of all the sweat.

Kyuubi seemed to be having a rockin' good time. He'd personally forced Itachi to dance with him right away. 'To show him off' he'd said and to make sure that he didn't head straight for a corner somewhere and hide.

It had worked to a certain extent. Itachi had been asked to dance by a lot of guys, and not really 'asked' by a lot more, and he had danced with most of them. He'd had to pull away from several of them when they started to get a little 'too' friendly though.

Every time he found himself with a new dance partner, Kyuubi would shoot him a look that clearly asked; "How about this one? Is he doin' it for ya?"

None of them were 'doing it for him' though. Some were really good looking and obviously more than willing, but perhaps they were too willing. Itachi wasn't really attracted to slutty people and most of these people were as slutty as they came. And while they might be hot, they didn't really look distinguishable, didn't seem memorable. Itachi didn't screw around randomly and he also didn't date just anybody. A person had to stand out in his mind for him to consider them.

He also had a very unfortunate problem. Someone already had stood out tonight. Now he found himself comparing every guy that came into sight with a cute little blue-eyed blond and not one of them was measuring up.

He was doing his level best to push the picture out of his mind because there was no way he should be having even the remotest interest in the blond. He was Kyuubi's little brother and he wasn't even in high school yet for God's sake! He looked even younger than Itachi's own brother.

A while later Itachi was more than ready to leave but Kyuubi was nowhere to be found. After scanning the crowd and waiting for him to show for ten minutes, he began to thread his way through the bodies and search every inch of the place, having no luck until he finally checked the bathroom.

There was a piss loaded Kyuubi retching violently into a urinal. (and half missing it) Itachi's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Couldn't make it to an actual toilet?"

"Oh man... 'tachi... I really shouldn't have mixed that tequila with everything else," the redhead slurred miserably.

"You're not getting in my car like that".

Itachi pulled the other boy up by the hair, which he'd thankfully tied back tonight and dragged him to the sinks, ignoring the whined protests. He swiftly yanked the shirt up over his head, holding it at arms length and dropping it into a sink where he turned on the water. He filled another sink, telling himself all the while that he was 'never' going clubbing with Kyuubi again.

Then he grabbed the red mane again and shoved the boy's face in the sink, holding him there for a couple of seconds while he struggled weakly before letting him up to breath and dunking him under once more.

Finally, he grabbed some paper towels and roughly dried him off until his face was almost as red as his hair. Sending a look to the soiled shirt, he decided he wasn't going to bother and simply turned off the water and hauled his now drunk and 'topless' friend out of the bathroom and out to the car.

By the time they reached the apartment building, Kyuubi had passed out cold in his seat. Itachi heaved a sigh and contemplated just booting him out of the car and leaving him on the side of the road. He really wasn't that much of a dick though and in the end, he fished the keys out of Kyuubi's pocket, heaved the dead weight of the redhead over his shoulder and carried him up to his apartment.

Finding Kyuubi's room, he slung the smelly, comatose body onto the bed and considered his job done. Leaving the room, he noticed the second bedroom door was partly open and stopped for a moment to debate with himself before carefully pushing the door open further... just to check on the boy of course.

Unlike Kyuubi's room, the dirty clothes were kept in only one pile off in a corner and the remaining clutter was mostly relegated to the shelves and dresser. There were also several thriving plants around the window.

Naruto was curled up on the bed, snuggled under the covers with his blond hair spread out over the pillow. He looked like an angel. No wait, more like a cherub. A _child_ angel. And Itachi should leave now before he started to feel like an evil pervert.

This was ridiculous. He'd_ noticed_ guys before but he'd never truly contemplated making a move. He'd never really thought about what it would be like, and he'd honestly never expected to, ever. Now here he was, for the first time ever, picturing himself with a boy... and that boy would just _have_ to be Kyuubi's brother.

There was no help for it. He couldn't possibly keep his word to Kyuubi now. Of course he wouldn't tell the redhead about it at all. If he never mentioned the deal again, it would most likely be forgotten anyway.

This was probably just another one of those passing attractions. Definitely not worth all the trouble it would undoubtedly cause. Sure the kid was cute but there were plenty of 'girls' out there who were cute. (and wouldn't make him feel like the devil for sullying their innocence).

Having decided to simply never think about this again, he started to turn to leave but found himself stopping and turning back. Impulsively he reached out and smoothed back a small lock of blond hair that had been tickling the boy's nose and swallowed hard at the silky texture slipping through his fingers. Slowly pulling his hand back, he turned once again with a sigh and walked to the door.

"Goodnight Naruto," he whispered and carefully closed the door behind him without a sound.

In the darkened bedroom, blue eyes blinked open and Naruto's lips curved into a little smile as he listened to the receding footsteps and the sound of the apartment door being closed and locked. Then he snuggled back down and closed his eyes again with a little sigh.

"Goodnight."

--

Itachi had gotten himself a new girlfriend in what, for him, was record time. Just under a week. Her name was Natsume and she was a tad short and had blond hair and blue eyes, which of course, didn't mean a thing... Of course...

He spent several weeks in her constant company, and it had been quite awhile since he'd hung around with Kyuubi,.. which was purely coincidence.

The redhead finally cornered him, sans girlfriend, one afternoon when she had gone off to a drama practice and he was sitting at their usual hang-out indulging himself in some 'plain' coffee. Every time he was with Natsume, he somehow ended up with some kind of non fat, odd flavored shit with a bunch of weird additives.

"There you are! Man, have you been avoiding me or something?" said Kyuubi, plopping down suddenly into the seat across from him.

Itachi looked up, startled but refusing to show it.

"I've been busy," he answered calmly. "Some of us, who have actual relationships know that they can take up a lot of time."

"Yeah yeah, I know you've got a new girlfriend. That chick with the theater group huh? Well if that's all you're busy with, then you must like her a hell of a lot more than any other girl you've ever dated. You've always had _some_ time to hang." He didn't fail to notice the slight twitch of Itachi's eye at this reasoning.

"Maybe so," he said mildly, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Bullshit," Kyuubi scoffed. "You wouldn't even look me in the eye just now. You're totally avoiding me."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Why would you do that?"

"Maybe the sight of you gives me sensory flashbacks to the disgusting stench of regurgitated tequila," Itachi slung back defensively. This was getting rather irritating.

"Ok, ok." Kyuubi sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "I know you had a shit-time that night. I dragged you out there and then left you hangin' and you had to get my ass home..."

"Don't forget cleaning you up. That was a fun experience."

"Right... whatever. I get it. You don't want to go out with me like that anymore. We don't have to go clubbing. In fact, we don't have to go out at all. We could just pick up some movies and have a relaxing evening at my place".

He looked at his friend expectantly and Itachi sighed.

He didn't have any excuse to turn him down now. Natsume was busy for the night and he had nothing better to do. There was nothing objectionable about sitting around watching movies.

Honestly, it wasn't like him to act this way anyway. So he'd been thrown for a bit of a loop. He was the only one feeling slightly awkward and there really wasn't all that much to feel awkward about, when it came right down to it. This wasn't the first time he'd had an attraction to someone that it wasn't possible to act on. The whole thing just wasn't that big of a deal.

Likely enough, it had been mostly the situation that had made the feeling more intense. He would be prepared for the next meeting. That little 'first connection buzz' would have died down and now that he had a girlfriend, he wouldn't be in the 'scoping out new prospects' mode.

Kyuubi'd had him all geared toward checking out guys at the time and his friend's brother had just happened to be the first one he met that night. Surely he wouldn't feel nearly the same way now.

--

It was exactly the same. Uzumaki Naruto was the cutest thing on _earth_. The blond boy had met them at the door wearing an old baggy t-shirt and worn jeans and somehow looked positively radiant.

"Hey Kyuubi!" he greeted cheerfully, before spotting the bag in the redhead's hand. "Oh, what movies did you get?"

He made a grab for the bag but Kyuubi swatted him on the head and he pulled back, rubbing his head with a pout. Yep, just as heart melting as Itachi remembered. Finally, he stepped through the door, catching the blond's attention.

"Naruto, you remember Itachi right?" said Kyuubi offhandedly as he began to rummage through the fridge.

"Of course!" The Uchiha found a gorgeous smile beaming up at him. "It's nice to see you again Itachi."

He was staring again. He knew it by the way the little blond was starting to blush and bite his lower lip. He snapped back to himself and nodded quickly.

"It's nice to see you too." Naruto rewarded him with another smile.

"You guys want popcorn?" called Kyuubi.

Soon enough they were all piled on the single couch in the living room, watching a ridiculous comedy. Itachi had been shoved into the middle by Kyuubi who wanted to lean against the arm. He was acutely aware of the smaller boy on his other side, who sat cross legged with one thigh overlapping Itachi's own and would sporadically scoop a handful of buttery popcorn from the bowl that Itachi was holding in his lap.

It was making it somewhat difficult to follow the movie, which was a shame because he hadn't been able to enjoy a good comedy since he'd started dating Natsume. She always wanted to watch complicated dramas. He'd liked that at first but he'd discovered that eventually one craved a little levity.

He forced most of his attention onto the movie and began to feel more comfortable within a few moments, surrounded by the warmth and the energetic laughter of the Uzumakis. Buttery popcorn was a not a favorite with Natsume either and he took the opportunity to enjoy it while he could.

Just when he had successfully distracted himself, he reached blindly into the bowl and ended up grabbing Naruto's slippery buttery fingers instead of popcorn. He looked up and locked gazes with brilliant blue eyes. Naruto pulled his hand away with a blush and almost placed it in his lap but stopped and looked around helplessly for something to wipe it off on first. Finding nothing, he shrugged and began to meticulously lick the butter from each finger, his attention drifting back to the movie.

Itachi's brief distraction was no more and he was staring at the blond boy with utmost concentration now. Then he realized he was starting to get hard and he mentally smacked himself.

"Stop that!" he ordered himself. "You have a bloody girlfriend".

Naruto, for his part remained completely oblivious, quickly getting over the odd moment and going right back to laughing at the movie. So innocent. He had no idea that a horrible lascivious pervert was sitting right next to him.

Itachi didn't know how he could even think such wicked thoughts about such a blissfully naive creature. Obviously he hadn't had enough practice with restraining himself. Well he was just going to have to get used to it.

--

Two months flew by and Itachi was still 'getting used to it'. He was fairly proud of his control though. He may still catch himself thinking things he shouldn't and sometimes staring just a little too long, but he hadn't let anything show otherwise, ruthlessly squashing down his reactions to the blond boy's proximity...mostly.

A week later they'd had another movie night. Kyuubi had chosen to rent a horror flick this time and pump them all full of chocolate covered peanuts and super-nibs. Itachi had never once considered nibs to be erotic before, but the things Naruto did with a string of cherry flavored licorice made him wish he'd had a camera.

The little blond twirled one around his finger and tongued between the loops absently as he watched the movie. Then he slowly licked and nibbled and sucked at the end.

Itachi tried valiantly to remind himself that _children_ played with their food, but a saint would have had trouble looking away from this. He was half relieved and half disappointed when Naruto eventually stopped eating and just watched the movie quietly.

When things started to get intense on the screen though, he noticed that the blond seemed to be very subtly trying to burrow into his side. He might not have even been aware of the gradual shifting if he hadn't been partially focused on him anyway.

At the more gruesome scenes, the smaller boy remained soundless but would surreptitiously close his eyes and when Itachi glanced down, he saw the boy's hands gripping his own thighs harshly. He reached over and carefully pried the smaller hands from their death-grip. Wide blue eyes flickered up to look at him.

"You don't have to watch it if you don't want to," he whispered into the blond's ear, causing a little shiver.

"No. I want to see the end," Naruto whispered back stubbornly. He turned back to look at the movie again, keeping his eyes open this time. But his fingers clung to Itachi's for the rest of it. Itachi smiled to himself and allowed the boy to hold his hand, giving him a little reassuring squeeze when he felt a suppressed flinch.

--

Kyuubi, true to his word, had not hounded him to go out clubbing again and had made it a habit to have a nice quite evening at home once a week. At least once a week, Itachi was forced to interact with his friend's brother. It wasn't really such a hardship, but then that was the problem.

He had tried to get his girlfriend to attend these little get-togethers but she had made it clear that she wasn't interested. She really didn't seem to like Kyuubi and vice versa. Besides which, she didn't like the apartment, the lack of proper seating, the choice of movies and/or snacks. The list went on.

The truth was, he was about ready to call it quits with her. At first he'd thought she was nice and interesting and witty. As time went on though, he'd found that they really didn't have that much in common, that she was actually rather self-centered and that she often wasn't so much witty as cutting.

She'd been slowly driving him up the wall for awhile now. Let's just say, she didn't keep her drama to the stage.

On the other hand, the more he got to know Naruto, the more he realized that he really liked him, beyond a simple attraction. Naruto was smart and cute and funny and genuinely kindhearted. He had a wide variety of interests and Itachi always had the most lively and fun conversations with him.

There were immature moments though, where Itachi wondered what evil had possessed him to be so attracted to such childishness. It brought a smile to his face, a rush of warmth to his heart... and a definite stirring to his groin. He wanted to take that youthfulness, that innocence, and own it. To mark it and claim it and have it to admire at will.

Naruto's laughter was one of his best features. He loved to laugh and every time Itachi heard that laughter, he caught himself wishing his girlfriend were less serious and over dramatic.

Naruto was great fun to tease. His reactions were highly entertaining, and in the end, he never actually took anything badly. Natsume was too sensitive to tease and her demeanor simply did not encourage it.

It was also just _so_ nice to give the blond boy a call on their way over, to ask what he'd like them to bring him for dinner and hear the words; 'you guys can decide, I could go for anything really'. Natsume was beyond picky. She was a vegetarian and stupidly weight-conscious.

Yes he was aware that he was comparing his girlfriend to a boy that he had an unreasonable interest in. He was also well aware that he shouldn't be. But he couldn't seem to stop, and what's worse is that she kept coming up short in a hundred little ways.

Naruto politely asked him about her once in awhile and he usually answered quite vaguely. Talking about his girlfriend with Naruto felt sort of weird. But one day it became clear that the smaller boy had realized that his relationship with Natsume wasn't going all that incredibly well.

"Itachi, I know it's not really any of my business...but I can't help but notice that you're over here or hanging out with my brother more and more often. I still haven't seen your girlfriend more than twice though. Is there anything wrong?"

Kyuubi had gone out to the store for a few things that they were out of and Naruto had been charged with making supper. He had removed his over sized sweat-shirt, leaving only a flimsy beater to cover him and Itachi was staring at him busily chopping and throwing vegetables into a pot for spagetti sauce. Surprised by the question, Itachi answered without really thinking.

"She just won't come hang out with me."

"So you've asked her to?" asked Naruto, looking over from his stirring.

"Of course. She isn't interested in what I like to do," Itachi answered, realizing that since he'd already said something, he might as well keep going.

"Hmm." Naruto frowned in thought. "What does she like to do? Have you shown an interest in any of her pass-times?"

"She's obsessed with the theater. She has this drama group that she belongs to."

"So, have you ever gone with her to that? I mean, do you go see her plays or practices or whatever?"

"Well I did a few times, but it gets kind of repetitive."

"Then, you don't really spend like _any_ time together?"

"Some. Probably not nearly enough," Itachi admitted. Naruto nodded as he added some more seasonings to his mixture.

"Sounds like you two need to come up with a few new pass-times that you can both enjoy. Or maybe you can find a way to make the things you like more enjoyable for her. Compromise, you know?

Kyuubi told me that when you first started dating her, you two spent all your time together. You had to have enjoyed her company."

'I was actually just avoiding you,' Itachi thought as he nodded in agreement.

"There must have been a real spark there. Isn't it worth a little extra effort to keep that alive? Or...you uh...still like her don't you?" Itachi nodded again. "Maybe you need to remind yourself of what you like about her now and then."

"I'm beginning to think I liked her because she looks kind of like you," Itachi murmured under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I was just saying that I know what I like so much about her." Naruto smiled kindly at him.

"That's good. It'd be kind of a shame to let that just drift away out of simple apathy."

'It would,' thought Itachi, nodding again. 'I should make a cleaner break of it.'

Naruto could be pretty level headed for such a young boy though, he noticed.

Naruto had filled a second pot with water and set it to boil, letting the sauce begin to simmer. Then he opened the cupboard that served as a pantry in the small apartment and looked for the noodles. They were up near the very top.

The short boy sighed and stretched up as far as he could, his entire body displayed beautifully for a second. Itachi's eyes roved over every inch.

He was suddenly imagining himself moving in behind the blond, offering to help and pressing his own body flush against the smaller one. Feeling the heat and the way that cute ass fit against his crotch while he reached up, running his fingertips along the soft skin of the boy's arm, and grabbed the box for him.

He imagined the blond's soft gasp and the way he would lean back into him. The box would be forgotten on the counter and Itachi would slide his hands slowly down the boy's front and then back up, sneaking under the shirt to feel more skin. Naruto would blush sweetly, his stomach quivering under Itachi's fingers.

"Got it!"

Itachi shook himself from his thoughts to find Naruto kneeling on the counter top, the box of spagetti in hand, and realized that in all his fantasizing, he'd failed to actually help the poor kid. God he was a jerk.

Quickly, he got up and went to the counter, grabbing the blond by his slim waist, and easily lifted him down from his perch. Naruto turned around with a look of surprise when he was safely on the ground, and Itachi was somewhat gratified that at least one part of his fantasy had come true. The blond really did blush sweetly.

"You could just ask for help you know. I'm right here for you."

Holy crap! That came out _really_ cheesy. Naruto was biting his lip now, his face flushing more darkly. He was either flustered or trying not to laugh.

Itachi was pretty sure that most people would be trying not to laugh but with Naruto, he wasn't sure. The boy was such a sweetheart. Here he was, all concerned and trying to help Itachi with his problems and Itachi was having inappropriate thoughts about him right in the middle of it.

It's not like this was an isolated incident either. Just last night, he'd had such a bad, naughty dream about the little blond. He'd woken up right at the good part... er, uh... just in time, that is.

He'd had the boy naked and in his arms, pressed tightly against him and one hand reached down to find the boy ass. He'd cupped that rounded cheek, noting how perfectly it fit in his hand. Firm but soft with just the right amount of give. His thumb settled into the valley between, calling attention to how close it was to the entrance hidden there. He'd felt the temptation to let it slide along that groove, to find the little whorl of muscle that guarded the smooth, tight heat beyond.

He had been just about to move in to coax down those defenses and explore the depths of him, taking what he wanted. He'd wanted to feel exactly _how_ tight and _how_ hot, how smooth... Ok , now he was really, really hard. Shit.

Still, Itachi was not about to go and make things all awkward with his best friend and become a damn cradle-robber in the process. So things had fallen into a routine that became, if not wholly satisfying, then at least fairly comfortable.

Then, one day, the proverbial wrench was thrown into the works. And much like the first time this had occurred in the life of Uchiha Itachi, the 'wrench' came in the form of a red haired boy.

--

Itachi came into the apartment without bothering to knock, just as Kyuubi was setting his snacks on the coffee table and getting ready to settle into the couch.

"Hey. Ready to start already?" He looked around slowly. "Where's Naruto?"

Suddenly, a buzzing noise came from right behind him. Kyuubi walked around him to the intercom and pushed the button.

"Come on up".

At that moment Naruto came out of his bedroom wearing a tight black t-shirt and fitted jeans instead of his usual over-sized old clothes. Itachi gaped unconsciously at the sight. The blond looked up from fixing his watch onto his wrist and caught the Uchiha's strange look.

"Oh, hi Itachi!"

"Hello Naruto. What's going on?" Naruto looked down at himself and then smiled back up at Itachi.

"I have a date."

Itachi suddenly felt something inside him squeeze painfully.

"Do I look ok?"

He forced himself to nod carefully and the blond gave a happy grin.

"Thanks. I'm a little nervous," he said candidly.

There was a knock at the door a second later and Naruto bounced over to open it, revealing a boy who was a few inches taller than him (which isn't saying much, since most people were taller than him) with jade green, khol lined eyes, pale skin and hair as red as Kyuubi's.

"Hi," said Naruto shyly. The redhead nodded.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as the boy looked Naruto over, taking in his apparel and causing the blond to blush.

"Come in for a second," said Naruto, dragging the boy through the door by the arm. He pulled him into the living room, stopping in front of his brother. "This is my brother, Kyuubi. Kyuubi this is Gaara."

"Nice to meet you Gaara," said Kyuubi, shaking the boy's hand.

"Likewise," Gaara answered. Then Naruto turned them back around to face Itachi.

"And this is Itachi. He's Kyuubi's best friend."

Itachi and Gaara both nodded impassively to each other though Itachi's eyes gleamed with suspicion.

"Well, go on bro. Have fun." Kyuubi waved them off and flopped down on the couch, picking up the remote.

"Gaara," said Itachi quietly as they passed him on the way out. The shorter redhead turned to look at him. "Be a gentleman."

The subtle threat was clear but the redhead just nodded again, calmly. Naruto stood, looking curiously at Itachi for a moment before he smiled.

"See you later Itachi... Bye Kyuubi!"

When they were gone, Itachi went over and sat down beside Kyuubi with a little scowl on his face.

"You're just letting him walk out of here with that guy? Do you even know anything about him?"

Kyuubi lifted an eyebrow at him.

"It's just a date. He'll be fine. You act like he's a little kid."

Itachi was somewhat taken aback by this comment and fell silent as the movie started.

--

Weeks later, Naruto was still dating the 'Gaara' boy. Itachi felt like strangling the young redhead whenever he saw him. He couldn't believe how strongly he felt about it. He'd never been jealous before in his life and he couldn't do anything about the feeling now.

He still had a girlfriend, and he wouldn't have made a move on Naruto even if he were single. All he could do was shove the distasteful emotion down with everything else, but it was so frustrating to know that the person he wished he could have, was dating someone else.

Maybe he would have been less irritated if that someone else had been a very meek little female, but as it was, he couldn't help picturing Gaara doing all sorts of 'less then innocent' things with the blond. Things that _he_ had wanted to do but never allowed himself.

He told himself that he was being irrational (yet another new experience for him) and that it really wasn't any of his business what they did together.

Then he walked into the apartment to drop something off for Kyuubi one day, and found them making out on the couch. Gaara had Naruto in his lap. His hands were threaded into blond hair, tilting his head and holding him in place while he drove his tongue into his mouth.

Lecturing himself was not going to help Itachi at this point. An extremely realistic daydream of himself grabbing the red haired boy and smashing him through the window, dropping him to his death, flashed before his mind's eye. Quickly he turned around and walked right back out the door, in order to avoid making that dream come true.

That was the day he finally broke up with his girlfriend. His bottled up aggression just couldn't handle anymore of her shit. Just because Itachi was generally a very laid back person didn't mean he appreciated being dictated to.

She went and ordered his food for him, again, that evening and that was all it took. It was the worst, messiest breakup he'd ever had. Normally things went a lot calmer and more smoothly. He had a feeling though, that she had probably appreciated the drama of it all.

Oh well. He'd been meaning to breakup with her for quite some time anyway. Convenience was 'definitely' never a good reason to go out with someone. He knew that already too. He'd been acting like a total idiot for months now. Since when did anything get to him this badly?

Blast that Uzumaki Naruto!

When he pictured that adorable face, smiling happily at him though, he felt like a jerk for even remotely considering placing any blame on the blond. It wasn't his fault that...that Itachi wanted him.

--

Kyuubi and Itachi were busily making some nachos the next week when Naruto came out of the bathroom and picked up the DVD case from the table.

"Oh, I love this movie." He set it back down and went to the fridge for a soda, clearly ready to settle in with them for the evening.

"Hey Naruto, I haven't seen Gaara around for a little while. Whats up?" asked Kyuubi bluntly.

"Oh we're not going out anymore. He's a great guy but we really just aren't compatible that way after all." Naruto didn't sound broken up about this in the least.

"You're not?" Kyuubi and Itachi both looked up with interest.

"No. It turns out that we're too much alike. Gaara's got kind of a weird background. He's always had to be the one to take the reins in his family. He's like the man of the house. I think he felt like he was supposed to be dominant in his relationships as well, but really, what he needs is someone to take care of him, and I'm just not the right guy for the job you know?"

"Oh, I get it. That's too bad."

"Not really. We had a good long talk about it and I'm just glad that I could help him figure some things out and feel better about himself. He seemed to think that needing something made him weak.

I told him that people all had different definitions of what a man should be, but the one thing that everyone can agree on, is courage. I thought it showed a great deal of courage to be who you are and admit that you have needs in spite of the somewhat vulnerable position it may put you in."

This was another one of those times when Itachi had trouble believing that Naruto could be so young. When the situation called for it, he could be extremely mature and insightful.

"So you guys are cool then?" asked Kyuubi.

"Of course, we'll always be good friends. We don't even feel awkward about it at all really. I invited him to my birthday."

"Birthday? You have a birthday coming up?"

Naruto burst into laughter and pounced on his brother.

"Kyuu! Stop that! You better be getting me something good. You've only got a week left".

Kyuubi strolled into the living room with his brother clinging to his back and whirled around before dropping onto the couch, squishing the boy under him. Naruto struggled to push him off only to end up getting tickled breathless. Itachi watched them with a fond smile.

"Sure I'll get you something good," said Kyuubi when he finally stopped to let the blond catch his breath. "It's your sweet sixteen. The traditional gift for that is porn isn't it?"

"Kyuubi! No porn!"

Itachi blinked, his face going blank.

"...You're sixteen?" Naruto looked up.

"Ah you're probably wondering about how I'm only starting high school now".

Itachi nodded. That was not what he was thinking at all though. He hadn't even realized the boy was starting high school.

"Well, the year that our parents died, I missed a few weeks of school while they were in the hospital and then for the wake and the funeral and what the social worker deemed a 'sufficient grieving period'.

After that I couldn't seem to bring myself to care about school for a while. I skipped a lot of classes and in the end I missed so much that I had to repeat the year. That kinda snapped me out of it though."

Itachi just continued to nod.

Sixteen?...Naruto was _sixteen_! That wasn't nearly as bad as he'd been thinking. God he looked so young! He was short and slender and his eyes were so big and bright and innocent. But sixteen… Shit he was only two years younger than Itachi himself, and yeah, Itachi could deal with sixteen.

Shit! Why had he never just asked his age? Oh right, because he didn't want to seem interested. That was so stupid. Itachi had never used to act stupid. Until he met Naruto, that is. Apparently he was downright stupid over Naruto.

Part of him wanted to blurt something out right now, but he knew that would be stupid. Naruto had a birthday coming up right? The thing to do was get him a cool present. He carefully composed himself, giving nothing away.

"So, am I invited to your birthday?" Naruto looked a little surprised but then he beamed at him like the sun.

"Of course you are! I didn't know if you would be interested."

"It's a once in a lifetime event."

"Heheh, well I suppose it is, if you want to look at it that way," Naruto conceded.

When the movie started, Itachi took his usual place in the middle voluntarily with a little smile playing over his lips. Naruto was sixteen and single again and he was so happy about that, it was almost pathetic, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

--

Itachi watched Naruto jumping around singing 'Happy Birthday to me' and smiled fondly. By now he'd accepted the fact that he liked the blond's childish moments, so he might as well enjoy it. Every time the younger boy smiled so brightly, he just couldn't help but smile along.

Naruto didn't have a huge group of guests on his list but he seemed to have more female friends than male. Or maybe it just felt like that to Itachi because they were all staring at him and offering him drinks and vying for a seat next to him.

Kyuubi was receiving similar treatment and was preening under the attention even though he had no interest in any of them. The knowledge that he could probably have any of them if he wanted to was enough to reinforce his already 'epic' self-image.

Itachi shook his head at his friend's antics, watching him teasing them shamelessly. He wondered if Naruto had had the foresight to warn his male friends to watch their asses.

And speaking of Naruto's male friends, one of them was sticking a little to close to him for Itachi's comfort at the moment. This non-descript loser, had been basically shadowing the blond since he'd arrived. Itachi hadn't minded so much when some girls had danced with the birthday boy on the makeshift dance-floor. It had been slightly more annoying when Gaara had danced with him, but that was still bearable. This little punk leading him out to the middle of the room though, really had him gritting his teeth.

As the song was coming to an end, Itachi stood and moved purposefully to Naruto, slipping an arm around the blond before the next song could start. He drew the blond into the kitchen, leaving the nameless hopeful behind.

"So how are you enjoying your birthday so far?"

"Oh it's been great!" said Naruto. "All my good friends showed up and I got Kyuubi to downgrade from porn to booze."

Itachi chuckled at this serious statement.

"Booze huh? Is that all he got you?"

"Well it's not like he can afford too much. He got that and a CD."

"That's good. You seem fairly satisfied."

"Sure. It's a good CD. Just as long as he doesn't forget about me you know? It's not like I was expecting a new car or anything."

"Even if he had bought you a car, it would have been expensive for you to run it. You could still get your license though. You may not use it much for a while but it'll still make your insurance cheaper later."

"Ah, I don't know if Kyuubi would let me drive his precious car," said Naruto uncertainly.

"You could drive mine," Itachi offered.

"Really?! You'd let me learn in your car? But it's so...expensive."

"You won't hurt it. If you go get your permit, I'll teach you to drive."

"Wow! That's so nice of you Itachi!"

"No," Itachi said sagely. "It's safety conscious of me. I have a feeling that Kyuubi wouldn't make a very good driving instructor."

"Well you're probably right about that. He's um... pretty easily frustrated."

"What's going on?" asked Gaara, who had suddenly showed up beside them.

"Itachi says he's going to teach me to drive!" Naruto gushed. Gaara looked at Itachi with a little knowing tilt to his lips.

"Really? Itachi's a really nice guy isn't he? Don't you just love him Naruto?"

Even when he joked, Gaara's voice was serious, and while Naruto was used to it, he couldn't help blushing at having that question asked so seriously.

Later on when the party had begun to dwindle to a close, Kyuubi kindly offered to give a couple of Naruto's friends a ride home. He took off just before the last of the guests and Itachi and Naruto recognized the gesture for what it really was. The redhead was likely hoping that they would have all the cleaning done by the time he got back.

The last to go was 'Mr. nameless hopeful' who stopped to wish Naruto a happy birthday and thank him for the invitation.

"So Naruto, I was wondering if you..." The boy trailed off at the sight of Itachi standing behind the blond, arms crossed and scowling dangerously.

"Wondering what?" asked Naruto.

"Uh, nothing really. I'll just talk to you later." He gave a weak smile and stepped out the door. "Thanks again."

When the door closed, Naruto turned back to look over the apartment with a sigh.

"Well, better get to work."

"Not just yet," said Itachi, taking his wrist to stop his progress. "I haven't given you your gift yet."

"My gift?" Naruto's wide eyes blinked up at him. "I thought..."

Itachi was holding out an envelope. The blond's lips twitched into a smile as he took it and tore it open to find the card inside. When he opened the card, there was a ticket inside. A concert ticket.

"Oh my God! You got me tickets to Screaming Kunai?!" He was literally hopping up and down with excitement.

"I've noticed you singing or humming their songs a lot."

"This is amazing Itachi! Thank you so much!" Naruto laughed, throwing his arms around the older boy. When he pulled back a moment later though, he stilled. "There's only one though. Am I going alone?" Itachi shook his head.

"Mine's in my wallet."

"Yours? Like it'll be just you and me?" Naruto asked almost shyly. Itachi nodded with a little smirk.

"That's right."

"Um, will your girlfriend..."

"Oh yes. We broke up. She really wasn't right for me." Naruto looked sort of contemplative for a moment.

"So um, is this... supposed to be..."

"A date?" he finished smoothly. "Yes. It is, if you want it to be."

Naruto suddenly found that they were standing very close together. He was blushing hotly, trying to force himself to meet Itachi's eyes. After opening his mouth a few times without successfully making a sound, he just nodded. Itachi chuckled softly.

"I thought you were straight," Naruto finally said.

"In your case, I'm willing to make an exception." Itachi gave a wink and then reaching out, he tilted the blond's face up and laid a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I've had such a crush on you," Naruto whispered, blushing harder than ever. Itachi's eyebrows shot up.

"You...! So you've been just waiting for me to make a move then?"

"Well no. Not really. I mean, you had a girlfriend and you kind of acted like I was just some cute little kid sometimes. I didn't think you would ever want to..."

'I'm such an idiot!' Itachi thought, shaking his head at his own behavior.

Then a smile spread over his face. _'I've had such a crush on you.'_ He didn't think he would ever stop replaying that whispered phrase in his head.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he had the smaller boy in his arms and his tongue was licking the sugar-frosting flavor off of full, soft lips. Naruto gasped and Itachi's lips sealed over his as a tongue swept in to tangle with his own. He clung to the taller boy, relaxing into his embrace and let out a quiet groan as his mouth was thoroughly ravaged.

Somehow, he found himself pushed up against a wall that he'd been sure was several feet away, though he didn't remember them moving. He could feel what was, unmistakably, Itachi's arousal pressing insistently into his hip as they rocked subtly together.

Itachi was simply not used to denying himself what he desired for so bloody long, and he was sure that he'd never desired anything the way he did Naruto. He was losing himself, finally feeling and tasting him and he had to stop. He hadn't even taken the boy on a date yet. He needed to get a grip.

Slowly, reluctantly, he backed off looking down at the breathless blond. Naruto looked back with glazed, unfocused blue eyes. His cheeks were flushed, his lips bruised red. His panting breaths washed over Itachi's chin. Itachi could barely rein himself in.

"I have had such a crush on_ you_." he whispered slowly.

Naruto's hands released his shirt and slid up around his neck and he buried his burning face in Itachi's throat, feeling the vibration of the older boy's chuckle. Itachi hugged him tighter with a contented sigh just as the door swung open.

"What the hell is this!" demanded a confused Kyuubi. "Naruto, is something wrong?"

The little blond looked up, showing off his red face as he shook his head. Kyuubi's golden eyes shifted from one of them to the other and back again.

"Itachi, what's going on here?"

"Nothing much," said Itachi casually. "Birthday hug."

Kyuubi's eyes narrowed.

"Looks more like a birthday snog."

Naruto's blush darkened, confirming his guess.

"About that," Itachi continued, "Naruto and I are going to that concert next Friday."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Itachi held up a hand to stall his friend.

"Remember our deal. I made you a promise. I _had_ to go for it," he reasoned.

"You weren't supposed to pick my brother!"

"What?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the redheads outburst. "You act like he's a little kid or something."

Kyuubi blinked. Then finally began to chuckle.

"You evil sonofa... Fine, but you'd better treat my brother better than you've ever treated anyone in your life."

Itachi frowned, scoffing at the redhead.

"I happen to be a perfectly respectable date... Man whore."

Kyuubi couldn't really deny this and simply laughed off the slight.

--

Naruto was jumping around, screaming and cheering for his favorite band along with the crowd while Itachi did his best to protect him from being jostled too much by some of the bigger guys around them. Personally Itachi didn't know how he could take that kind of physical exertion on a full stomach like that.

They'd gone to a restaurant before the concert and Naruto had packed away a rather large portion of pasta. Where such a small boy could have put it all was a mystery but Itachi was happy to treat someone who appreciated it so thoroughly.

Naruto was obviously having the time of his life. The atmosphere was intense. The band was putting on a wonderfully lively performance and the crowd's energy was at it's peak. The blond's Screaming Kunai t-shirt was clinging to him with sweat and his hair flopped limply with every jump.

The last song was announced and the audience roared excitedly. The last song that was chosen was one of their biggest hits.

Somebody stumbled into Itachi and he caught them, setting them back up on their feet. When he looked back over to his date, he found that Naruto was no longer at his side. A couple of the guys right next to them had started grabbing people left and right and hoisting them up over the crowd and the little blond was being carried off, passed along from hand to hand above the crowd.

"Shit!"

He hurriedly began elbowing his way through the mass of bodies, following the glimpse of bright blond hair. Thankfully the boy's direction shifted back towards him.

Shouldering to the left, he managed to cut him off and when Naruto came within reach, he grabbed him, pulling him back down to the ground and guarding him jealously. Naruto scrambled to get his balance and turned himself around, latching onto Itachi for safety.

"Are you ok?" Itachi shouted.

The blond nodded and they began to make their way to the outskirts of the crowd as the song ended and the band thanked the crowd and said their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you're alright," Itachi asked again when they'd made it out to the car.

"Yeah. It was kinda fun actually," replied Naruto with a grin "... except for a couple of people who touched me inappropriately," he finished under his breath.

Itachi stiffened as he suddenly realized that a hundred people had just had their hands all over Naruto. He growled low in his throat at the thought, glaring at the other concert goers around them who were also just getting to their cars.

Naruto just smiled to himself at the display. Of course he'd known Itachi was protective from the moment he met him.

When they pulled up outside the building, Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but Itachi walked him up to the apartment like it was natural, and for him it would be. Itachi had gotten used to making himself at home here.

The blond found himself swept into Itachi's arms the moment they entered the door. The taller boy held him loosely, looking down at him with a lazy little smile. Naruto smiled back.

"Thank you so much Itachi. This was the best birthday present ever."

"I'm glad you're happy. That means I get a kiss right?"

The smile had gone from lazy to teasing in under a second. Naruto chuckled and leaned up to touch his lips to Itachi's. Itachi met him halfway and the touch swiftly became more like a siege. He tightened his embrace.

The boy's body just felt so good in his arms and he'd been keeping his hands to himself all week. It was torturous.

Last night, they'd had their usual movie 'gathering' and Naruto had happily snuggled up with him this time. He couldn't even remember what the movie was about. The tension had been building within him for months. It had taken far too much will power to sit still and be a good boy and he wasn't sure how much he had left now. He desperately craved more contact.

They stumbled to the couch and fell onto it while he tried to suck the boy's soul out through his mouth. In one swift motion, he had the t-shirt stripped from the small, lithe body. Naruto let out a squeak of surprise.

"Sweat. You need to change it," he murmured before latching onto the blond's mouth again and sucking on his tongue.

Without breaking the connection, he unbuttoned his own shirt with one hand and pressed their bodies together, skin to skin. Damn, Naruto had _perfect_ skin too. He let his lips move down to the slender neck as his hips began to roll slowly and steadily into the blond's and when he felt an answering hardness, his hand mindlessly slunk down to unzip the baggy jeans and slip inside.

"Wa-wait," Naruto gasped. "I-I've.. never..."

Itachi pulled his head up to look at the boy's face, taking in the deep blush of embarrassment. Never?... Sweet. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to despise Gaara for eternity.

"Don't worry." he said, his voice soft but rough all at once. "We won't go any further. Just want to touch you."

His fingers wrapped around Naruto's erection even as he spoke and with the first full stroke, he watched his beautiful face tense in pleasure. His own need was almost forgotten for a few moments as he took in every little reaction. Every sigh, every shudder was committed to memory.

Soon enough though, he couldn't hold back any longer. He moved to undo his own pants, causing a little whine of disappointment from the blond when he paused in his ministrations. He lined their cocks up together and ground down, groaning at the amazing sensation. Naruto bucked back against him with a whimper.

He couldn't get his brain to function enough for anything but that instinctive motion of his hips but finally he reached between them to wrap a hand around both of them. Naruto's moans grew louder and his smaller hand joined Itachi's urging him to pick up the pace.

Climax hit them at nearly the same time. Itachi forced himself to keep his eyes open to watch the look on Naruto's face as the intense pleasure of release overtook him completely. Their bodies relaxed together and Itachi laid his head on Naruto's chest listening to his racing heart gradually slow as he panted his way back down to earth.

"Woah," Naruto breathed into the quiet. Itachi's lips curled into a smile that was unusually wide for him.

'Just wait Naruto chan,' he thought to himself. 'You're gonna be a little frreeeak one day like nobody would believe... And all for me.'

(A/N; Heheheh, and so it begins! Man, 'well underway' wasn't quite as accurate as I'd thought at the time. XP But there you have it. This is really long to scroll through. I suppose I could have broken it up, but I'm sure you guys don't mind reading it all at once right? Of course you don't!

Inner Itachi may not be quite what you expect but it's pretty funny to think of a guy like Itachi being sexually frustrated from like the beginning of June to the middle of October. I thought about the time line and had a good laugh about that. )


End file.
